The International Criminal Court had issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister.
WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump enacted on Feb. 6 an executive order to allow for the imposition of sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) over its alleged bias against Israel and the United States.
The ICC issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip in response to the Hamas terrorist group’s attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
“The ICC’s recent actions against Israel and the United States set a dangerous precedent, directly endangering current and former United States personnel, including active service members of the Armed Forces, by exposing them to harassment, abuse, and possible arrest,” Trump stated in the executive order.
“This malign conduct in turn threatens to infringe upon the sovereignty of the United States and undermines the critical national security and foreign policy work of the United States Government and our allies, including Israel.”
Neither the United States nor Israel is a party to the Rome Statute, which established the ICC in 2002.
The ICC criticized the executive order, stating that it hurts its “independent and impartial judicial work.”
The court went on to say that it “stands firmly by its personnel and pledges to continue providing justice and hope to millions of innocent victims of atrocities across the world, in all situations before it.”
The court—based in The Hague, Netherlands—arrests and prosecutes foreign individuals for crimes against humanity. Currently, 125 countries are under the statute.
There have been just 11 convictions across 32 cases in the history of the court, which has issued 60 warrants, according to the ICC. Four individuals have been acquitted.
What the Executive Order Says
The executive order paves the way for the United States to sanction individuals who “have directly engaged in any effort by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute a protected person without consent of that person’s country of nationality.”
These sanctions would consist of blocking those people from entering the United States or owning assets in the country.
Family members of those sanctioned could also be affected.
Additionally, the executive order prohibits assisting those who have been sanctioned by the United States.
Moreover, it requires U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to submit a report to the president by April 7 about who should be sanctioned under the executive order.
“The United States remains committed to accountability and to the peaceful cultivation of international order, but the ICC and parties to the Rome Statute must respect the decisions of the United States and other countries not to subject their personnel to the ICC’s jurisdiction, consistent with their respective sovereign prerogatives,” Trump stated.
In June 2020, during his first term, Trump imposed ICC-related sanctions in response to the court pursuing a case regarding U.S. military action in Afghanistan. The ICC also investigated the Taliban terrorist group over possible war crimes. In 2021, President Joe Biden lifted the sanctions.
ICC’s Accusations Against Netanyahu and Gallant
In November 2024, the ICC announced warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant “for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed” between Oct. 8, 2023, and May 20, 2024.
They were accused of “the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.”
Netanyahu and Gallant criticized the warrants, with the former accusing the ICC of “absurd and false actions” and the latter saying the move “sets a dangerous precedent against the right to self-defense and moral warfare and encourages murderous terrorism.”
Gallant was fired as defense minister in November.
In May, the ICC announced warrants against Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh over war crimes such as taking hostages, committing sexual violence, torture, and “other inhumane acts.”
All three have since died.
Israel and Hamas reached a cease-fire last month to at least temporarily halt the fighting, resulting in the swapping of Hamas-held hostages for Palestinian prisoners.
Senate Failed to Pass ICC Sanctions Bill
The executive order came a little more than a week after the Senate failed to advance a bill to sanction the ICC.
All but one of the Senate Democrats voted against invoking cloture on the measure—which would have required 60 votes to overcome the filibuster, which applies to most legislation in the upper congressional chamber.
The bill would have enabled the United States to slap sanctions on those involved with the ICC’s work when it comes to dealing with the United States, Israel, and any other ally not a party to the Rome Statute.
Additionally, the measure would have ended U.S. support for the ICC.
Democrats claimed that the bill was too broad and would allow for the sanctioning of U.S. companies that do business with the ICC.
“I support legislation to push back on their bias against Israel, and voted on this bill in the House — but in recent weeks, our U.S. businesses and allies have raised serious concerns over the text of the bill,” Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) said in a statement.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer claimed that the bill would allow Trump to “arbitrarily sanction the heads of state” of U.S. allies.
Whether the bill will be modified or brought up again is to be determined. The bill previously passed the U.S. House of Representatives in a bipartisan vote.